life is simply better lived with dogs!

Archives for October 2015

I love to bake. I’ve been baking for my family and friends for years. Making Christmas cookies at my house with my nieces is a beloved, time honored tradition. My chocolate chip and oatmeal cookies are produced in double batches to bring to family gatherings so everyone can bring some home after we eat a bunch for dessert.

It makes sense that I would bake cookies for my dogs – the furry family so dear to my heart – but I have not yet tried! Knowing that I have some eager taste testers, I am borrowing some cook books from a friend and I’ll report back next week!! I am very excited to give this a try. We are baking for ourselves but also for a fund raiser on October 24th for our friends at A Pathway to Hope. I think we need some trial batches to make sure they are really, really good. If you have any suggestions or a recipe to share, please let me know!

A week or so later….

Inspired by my love of baking and the woofuses’ love of treats, I decided to search for a good recipe that would work for Halloween. I found one at a great blog called “use real butter” – Pumpkin Peanut Butter Dog Treats. The simple ingredients are: whole wheat flour, eggs, pumpkin puree, and peanut butter. That’s it. Simply natural. For the recipe and directions, please visit the page on the use real butter blog – Jen tells it so well and her blog is a very interesting one well worth following.

I would suggest doubling the recipe, although it does make a lot, because every one you know with a dog will want some and then want some more. We made little “tombstones” for Halloween. These are cut out cookies and I had a hard time finding a small enough cookie cutter amongst my rather large collection. However some kind soul had given me a small tin of tea themed cookie cutters ages ago, and the tiny slice of toast (yes, there is a toast-shaped cookie cutter) worked perfectly as a tiny tombstone! Necessity is the mother of invention, eh?

Of our three dogs, Fiona is the pickiest eater. She is my litmus test for a good biscuit. This was her reaction. Do you see the intensity of her eyes? Secret is out right licking her chops. They are doing a down stay to earn their treats. Lobo thought they were mighty delicious as well.

We’re going to give dog treats out at Halloween to the dogs we know in the neighborhood – why not? Sounds like fun. We’ve put a dozen treats each in a snack size bag and added some Halloween stickers for spooky spirit. Let’s spread the ‘ruv around!

Our pups become noticeably more energetic as the weather turns cooler. I guess that is to be expected with Siberian huskies, who favor colder temperatures. I see it first in October, when the leaves begin to fall, the wind to howl and the Halloween decorations to go up around the neighborhood. Yet it is when the moon is full, that the doggie demon comes out to play.

Our girl Secret almost turns into another dog, like some sort of autumnal transformation. She doesn’t exactly become a werewolf, but I would describe her as somewhat possessed!

When the wind begins to blow and the full moon rises, little Secret wakes me up in the middle of the night with a paw to my chest. She’s not to be ignored. If I don’t rise to let her out, she wakes my husband. Often enough, he is the one she wakes first. Since his alarm goes off at 5 am to get ready for his commute, that is not really appreciated. This night, I decide to give him a break.

Sleepily I walk with Secret downstairs and let her out into the backyard. She is keyed up and wide awake. The full moon makes it bright as day if it’s not cloudy. I watch as she paces and runs. I attempt to quietly call her inside. No response. She is taken over by full moon madness.

I shuffle outside in my slippers and try to encourage her into the warmth of the house. She runs away, just beyond my reach. The full moon mocks me from above, terrible beauty that she is. Resignedly I go back inside, sit on the floor with my head against the sliding glass door, and watch her through drooping eyelids.

Secret is crazy when the moon is full!

I give Secret a few minutes to sniff and pace and run, and then decide to try to coax her in again. I am afraid to fall asleep at the door with her outside all night. Dog cookies, usually a sure fire way to get her to come to me, don’t work at 2 am.

I walk outside, this time clad a bit warmer in a sweatshirt over my pajamas, determined to grab her and carry her in if she won’t come. She comes up to me, tail wagging, eyes locked on my face. When I reach for her, she runs away like a tease, still looking at me. She walks around the yard whining and crying, barking and howling at me as if I have broken some unspoken code of human-dog relations.

Finally as a last resort I go inside and grab her leash. After a few minutes of dodge and dash in the backyard, I manage to lasso her and bring her inside. I am sure I am breaking all manner of rules of dog training but I don’t care. I’ve taken the classes. Positive reinforcement. But it goes out the window in the way pre-dawn hours. I am a bit smarter about dog behavior in daylight hours, when I am fully awake.

Does this continue when the snow begins to fall, you ask? When the moon is full, sigh, yes it does….. Winter brings a whole new set of adventures and sleeplessness! Stay tuned as the season advances and the temperatures drop.

DOG PARENT'S CODE OF CONDUCT
To travel (near or far) with my pet(s), I promise the following:
1. My dog is well groomed and reasonably well behaved
2. My dog is up to date on all his or her shots
3. I carry sufficient water, food and treats for my dog to be comfortable when traveling
4. I carry doggie waste bags and clean up after my dog
5. I support dog friendly establishments
6. My dog is friendly and non aggressive to people and other dogs
7. Both my pets and myself are respectful of the location, employees, and fellow patrons, of the establishments we frequent.
8. I never leave my dog in my hotel room.
9. I never leave my dog in a hot car.
10. My dog is microchipped and/or has a collar with name tag and contact info to reach me in case my dog is lost.

Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Janet McGrane Bennett and Woofus with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.